Coin operated shower timer

[Derlyn]

Quite a bit of my time is spent installing sub prepaid meters for sub lets. This often requires the seperating of wiring to each unit where a house has been split up into lets say 3 or 4 units.

The geyser is usually a headache because you will have 1 common geyser that services all the units.

How does one fairly charge 4 different tenants for the electricity used for water heating?

My nephew mentioned to me that in the UK he came across a place that had a coin operated shower. Brilliant idea.

I have googled but cannot find a local unit.

Does anyone know if such a thing is available locally and if so, where ?

[Andrew_van_Zyl]

I've seen them on trains overseas but not in ZA. Perhaps splitting the bill is a simpler solution

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[Derlyn]

Splitting the bill is not a solution.

Up to now, where possible, we have been fitting instant hot water showerheads to each individual unit. That works well, but cannoy always be used because of power issues.

We have also suggested that each unit has it's own gas geyser, but there are clients who don't like gas appliances. Where they are installed, they do the trick.

I'm still thinking of a way to do it where a common geyser is used.

We do install prepaid water meters, but they cannot be used on hot water systems.

Any ideas ?

[AndyD]

couldn't you put a hot water meter on for each unit and charge them by volume of HW rather than power. There might be some minor mathematics needed at the end of each month but it would be doable I'm sure.

[Derlyn]

Definately doable, however, one still needs to get the money out of the tenants after doing the calculations each month.

Ideal situation is having a prepaid water meter, but presently they are available only for cold water.

Your idea can work. There are brass water meters available for hot water.

Thank you, brother.

[Gene]

Is it possible to install an Ariston Aures s - 3.5kW water heater for each unit, cost per unit R1100 and the bigger flat can run on the geyser, a lot of money will also be saved by using these heaters. my 2c worth

[Derlyn]

Thank you, brother. We do use Lorenzetti shower heads where we have sufficient power available to each unit, but this is not always possible.

Sometimes there's only a 20A supply to each unit that supplies 1 or 2 socket outlets and a light. That's my dilemma. I must work out a way of charging the tenants for the hot water they use from a communal geyser.

The best solution so far is to fit a meter on the hot water line to each unit, take monthly readings, do some calculations and charge accordingly. One then needs an electricity meter on the geyser only to do the calculation quite accurately. Gets a bit complicated. A hot water prepaid meter would have solved that problem, but they are not available anywhere as far as I know. I suppose the demand for something like that does not warrent making and marketing them.

Anyway, thanks for that.
Happy New Year to you and yours.

[Justloadit]

Try this company Precision Meters for hot water meters

[Derlyn]

Thank you, brother. I have come right with brass meters suitable for hot water.

Pity I cannot find prepaid.

Peace out.